Zinc Triflate Catalyzed C‑Benzylation: Chemo- and Regioselective Route to Amido Substituted Diaryl and Arylheteroarylmethanes

An unprecedented zinc triflate catalyzed selective C-benzylation of anilides and heteroaryl amides with benzyl chlorides having electron-donating group at <i>para</i>-position is reported. The protocol offers moderate to high yield of <i>para</i>-amido substituted diaryl and arylheteroarylmethanes, uses cheap and easily available benzyl chlorides as the benzylating agent, catalytic amount of zinc triflate, and takes place under ambient conditions. Aminodiarylmethane derivatives can be obtained by hydrolysis of the corresponding amides. The methodology has also been applied for preparing dimethoxydiarylmethanes in good yields, which are the key precursors for synthesis of phenolic natural products

Synthesis of CuBO₂ Nano/Microrods via Easy Molten Salt Route and Study of Its Field Emission Properties

Nanostructures of copper based delafossites, which are p-type transparent conducting oxides (p-TCO), are technologically very important. Nanorods of CuBO₂, the latest member in the family of p-TCO, were prepared via easy molten salt method for the first time. The synthesis was optimized by varying the molarity of the precursor and synthesis parameters. The prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction for structural information. Field emission scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy revealed the morphological nature of the samples. Compositional analyses were performed by energy dispersive analysis of X-rays. UV–vis–NIR spectrophotometric studies determined reflectance of the samples. Growth of CuBO₂ nanorods was correlated with synthesis duration. Photoluminescence properties of the sample were studied using a fluorometer. The electron field emission properties of the samples were measured using our laboratory-made high vacuum setup. Finite element based simulation studies were performed to explain and compare the field emission behavior with experimental outcome. It was observed that FE properties of the CuBO₂ nanorods were governed by both aspect ratio and the roughness of the nanorods

Topological Insulator Bi₂Se₃/Si-Nanowire-Based p–n Junction Diode for High-Performance Near-Infrared Photodetector

Chemically derived topological insulator Bi₂Se₃ nanoflake/Si nanowire (SiNWs) heterojunctions were fabricated employing all eco-friendly cost-effective chemical route for the first time. X-ray diffraction studies confirmed proper phase formation of Bi₂Se₃ nanoflakes. The morphological features of the individual components and time-evolved hybrid structures were studied using field emission scanning electron microscope. High resolution transmission electron microscopic studies were performed to investigate the actual nature of junction whereas elemental distributions at junction, along with overall stoichiometry of the samples were analyzed using energy dispersive X-ray studies. Temperature dependent current–voltage characteristics and variation of barrier height and ideality factor was studied between 50 and 300 K. An increase in barrier height and decrease in the ideality factor were observed with increasing temperature for the sample. The rectification ratio (<i>I</i>₊/<i>I</i>_–) for SiNWs substrate over pristine Si substrate under dark and near-infrared (NIR) irradiation of 890 nm was found to be 3.63 and 10.44, respectively. Furthermore, opto-electrical characterizations were performed for different light power intensities and highest photo responsivity and detectivity were determined to be 934.1 A/W and 2.30 × 10¹³ Jones, respectively. Those values are appreciably higher than previous reports for topological insulator based devices. Thus, this work establishes a hybrid system based on topological insulator Bi₂Se₃ nanoflake and Si nanowire as the newest efficient candidate for advanced optoelectronic materials

Novel Quaternary Chalcogenide/Reduced Graphene Oxide-Based Asymmetric Supercapacitor with High Energy Density

In this work we have synthesized quaternary chalcogenide Cu₂NiSnS₄ (QC) nanoparticles grown in situ on 2D reduced graphene oxide (rGO) for application as anode material of solid-state asymmetric supercapacitors (ASCs). Thorough characterization of the synthesized composite validates the proper phase, stoichiometry, and morphology. Detailed electrochemical study of the electrode materials and ASCs has been performed. The as-fabricated device delivers an exceptionally high areal capacitance (655.1 mF cm^–2), which is much superior to that of commercial micro-supercapacitors. Furthermore, a remarkable volumetric capacitance of 16.38 F cm^–3 is obtained at a current density of 5 mA cm^–2 combined with a very high energy density of 5.68 mW h cm^–3, which is comparable to that of commercially available lithium thin film batteries. The device retains 89.2% of the initial capacitance after running for 2000 cycles, suggesting its long-term capability. Consequently, the enhanced areal and volumetric capacitances combined with decent cycle stability and impressive energy density endow the uniquely decorated QC/rGO composite material as a promising candidate in the arena of energy storage devices. Moreover, Cu₂NiSnS₄ being a narrow band gap photovoltaic material, this work offers a novel protocol for the development of self-charging supercapacitors in the days to come

Perforated Turbostratic Graphene As Active Layer in a Nonvolatile Resistive Switching Memory Device

Perforated turbostratic graphene (PTG) sheets have been synthesized from a natural waste material, dead bougainvillea bracts, using a single-step pyrolysis method, and a resistive switching (RS) memory device has been constructed with it for the very first time. Herein, the edges of these large-area multilayer graphene sheets are highly conducting due to the turbostratic stacking between the adjacent layers of the graphene sheets. These highly conducting PTG sheets embedded inside an insulating polymer matrix can act as an active layer for resistive switching memory devices. This hybrid structure shows nonlinear resistance change between two distinct resistance states by simple bias voltage variation. The trap-assisted space-charge-limited conduction can realize the high resistive state (HRS), whereas the low resistive state (LRS) takes place through direct conduction. To achieve the best performing device, a number of optimizations have been performed, like the variation of polymer matrices, variation of PTG and polymer concentration, active layer thickness variation, and top electrode area variation. The best performing device showed reproducibility of current–voltage data (>200 cycles), low power consumption (SET voltage 104), a long retention time (>104 s), and a large number of endurance cycles (>103). High writing-read-erase-read speed and flexibility/bending cycle tests were also carried out on the best-performing device to examine its tenacity. The current PTG-based flexible RS memory device derived from a biowaste, dead bougainvillea bracts, can provide an important step toward developing green electronics

Modeling and Simulation Based Analysis of Multi-Class Traffic with Look-Ahead Controlled Vehicles

Additional file 7: Fig. S7. TLR and PTEF-b inhibition impairs TLR-mediated HIV reactivation. a TLR ligands reactivate HIV in an NF-κB-dependent manner. Treatment of THP-1/HIV (HA3) cells with TNF-α (10 ng/mL) or TLR ligands (Pam3CSK4 at 0.1 µg/mL, HKLM at 108 cells/mL, poly (I:C) at 10 µg/mL, LPS at 1 µ/mL, flagellin at 1 µ/mL, FSL-1 at 1 µg/mL, imiquimod at 10 µg/mL, ssRNA40 at 5 µg/mL, and ODN2006 at 5 µM) for 16 h after a 2-h pre-incubation with either 100 µM of IKKγ NEMO binding domain inhibitory peptide (red bars; Inh Pep) or equivalent amount of the control peptide (blue bars; Imgenex) (X-axis). Y-axis represents % of GFP-expressing cells after FACS measurements and blue squares % of viable cells after PI exclusion quantification (right Y-axis). Error bars depict the standard deviation of three different experiments. b Partial inhibition of TNF-α-, IL-1β-, or TLR-mediated HIV reactivation by P-TEFb inhibitors. Human hµglia/HIV (HC01) and (HC69), and rat hT-CHME-5/HIV (HC03) and (HC14) microglial cells were untreated (black) or pre-treated with DRB (red; 10 µM) or flavopiridol (blue; 30 nM) for 30 min prior to treatment with TNF-α (30 ng/mL), IL-1β (10 pg/mL), LPS (1 µg/mL), or poly (I:C) (10 µg/mL), as shown in the X-axis, for 16 h prior to quantification of GFP (Y-axis)

Structure and conservation of EVI and MDS in humans, <i>X. laevis</i>, and <i>X. tropicalis</i>.

<p>There are 16 exons for human and <i>X. tropicalis</i> EVI and 3 exon for human MDS. In <i>X. laevis</i>, as in humans, exon 2 of MDS can be spliced to exon 2 of EVI to form a larger, fusion transcript MDS/EVI. The % identity of the PR (PRDI-BF1 and RIZ homology domain containing) domain, zinc finger domains (ZF-D) 1 and 2, C-terminal binding protein (CtBP) domain, and acidic domain (AD) are indicated. For an alignment of the EVI amino acid sequence, see <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0055585#pone.0055585-VanCampenhout1" target="_blank">[21]</a>. Note that despite an exhaustive search by using RACE and <i>in silico</i> methods, no MDS exon 3 could be found in <i>X. laevis</i> or <i>X. tropicalis</i>, although a 3′ end of MDS exon 2 that is not present in MDS/EVI fusion transcript was cloned by using RACE (not shown). Thus, the existence of the MDS transcript and encoding protein remains unknown as indicated with a question mark in the figure.</p

EVI, MDS, and MDS/EVI transcripts are induced in the intestine of premetamorphic tadpoles treated with T3.

<p>The expression of the transcripts was analyzed by using transcript-specific primer sets (as in <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0055585#pone-0055585-g002" target="_blank">Fig. 2</a>.) on total intestinal RNA from tadpoles at stage 54 exposed to 5 nM T3 for 0–7 days. Error bars indicate SEM (n = 3). * indicates transcript levels lower than the peak expression of the specific transcript (p≤0.05).</p

MDS/EVI is strongly upregulated in the intestine at the climax of metamorphosis.

<p>A primer set common to EVI and MDS/EVI was used for qPCR analysis on total intestinal RNA at different stages during metamorphosis as in <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0055585#pone-0055585-g002" target="_blank">Fig. 2</a>. Note that the data is consistent with that in <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0055585#pone-0055585-g002" target="_blank">Fig. 2</a> if one considers the fact that there is little non-Ep in premetamorphic tadpoles at stage 56 but non-Ep increases as a percentage of the total intestine during metamorphosis. Error bars indicate SEM (n = 3). * indicates transcript levels lower than the peak expression (p≤0.05).</p

Association between specimen storage time and the Q129/41 ratio.

<p>The solid line indicates the estimated linear relationship between age and Q129/41 ratio. The shaded area denotes pointwise 95% confidence intervals of the conditional mean. Cases successful through the entire WES workflow (DNA extraction through WES sequencing) are denoted as circles (N = 53); unsuccessful cases are denoted as X’s (N = 6).</p